My parents are die-hard Ateneo fans. Papa is an alumnus, the only one in the brood to get in and graduate from AdMU. Mama, though she never stepped an academe foot in the University, was brainwashed since her 2nd grade to hate La Salle, and worship the ground Ateneans walk on.
Friends don't believe me when I say I wasn't even allowed to touch a La Salle university application in 4th year high. My parents specifically said, study anywhere but there. Hard core? Yes. Imagine their happiness when I landed in, by their definition, the most ideal university in the country.
Of course, when the
Fight-Fight-Blue-And-White won the 74th UAAP basketball division (prada midgets, juniors and seniors teams), bagging in the triple win three-peat, we just had to go to the Bonfire. I love my school and I'm proud of everything the Ateneo does, but I'm not really a hoops fan and I don't do crowds. The past two bonfires were hell on Earth for me, so I wasn't really looking forward to this one.
But
*light bulb
* flashed in my teeny brain and I thought, while everyone else is a-partyin' in the AGS parking lot, why don't I and my li'l feet go a-runnin' 'round campus? Genius! And run I did. After helping the parental units get settled in the designated tent, I went off for a good hour and a half of running. Okay, fine, so I was mostly walking but it still felt great! Going around the school with my standard Imogen Heap/Frou Frou playlist was liberating. While everyone else was on their way to the bonfire, I was running (literally) the other direction! Only thing missing was the rain. Running in school in the rain would be a dream.
I was back in the tent by 6:30 in the evening, the celebration's program proper hadn't even started yet. Starved and wounded (
nadapa ako), but happy and sated, I settled down with my family to cheer on the Ateneo teams who have, thus far in the season, won their respective trophies (basketball, swimming, judo, dance... I don't remember them all). Like I said, I'm not a fan, apparently not just of basketball but of the whole UAAP concept.
However, after all the teams have gone up on stage, and had been congratulated by the crowd, the bonfire was lit while
"We Stand On A Hill" played in the background. I love that song. It makes even the non-fan like me want to yell
win-or-lose,-it's-the-school-we-choose, and mean it with all my heart. And after the Ateneo anthem, a grand display of fireworks! My school knows how to party like a rockstar.
Speaking of rockstars, here's my highlight of the night. My
ultra, mega, ay-caramba , mama mia all-time favorite band in the world was first up to perform.
Parokya Ni Edgar rocked the stage with
Buloy,
Halaga and
The Yes Yes Show. They really bring out the high-pitched, silly high school girl in me. I was off my seat and jumping to their music. Of course, Mama and Papa were looking at me and my sister like
"Huwaaaat?!" but we just seriously love-love-love the band. I knew their entire first album by heart back in the day, and I'm sure if you play it back to me now, I'd still be able to sing along to every one of their songs.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Three songs by the awesome Parokya Ni Edgar was enough to cap off my night but here comes Marty (our
bunso), saying he knows how to get backstage. AYIIIIKIIIIIEEE!!! I swear, blood was rushing thru me like nothing else at this point. You see, I'm semi-obsessed with their most useless band member, Vinci. He is H-O-T!
And so Marty brings his two older, but somehow more-immature-at-that-moment, sisters backstage to meet the band. And we met them! All of them, even saving Vinci for last and we had a picture taken with them. I wasn't able to stop myself from admitting to Vinci's face that I've had a crush on him since forever. He was such a sport about it! I love him more now.
The end! Beautiful Sunday. Congratulations, Blue Eagles, Blue Eaglets, and everyone else. Happy to say today that my blood boils blue. Animo Ateneo!
